


Alec's Day  Off

by jadegreendragon



Series: Domesticity [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Developing Friendships, Domestic Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 20:51:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadegreendragon/pseuds/jadegreendragon
Summary: Alec has a day off but Magnus has a client he can't postpone.





	Alec's Day  Off

**Author's Note:**

> Hi All,
> 
> Another in my Domesticity series. So my friend H teased that I just can't seem to write anything these days without smut, so I took that as a challenge and here it is. No Smut! (Personal Note: Writings much more fun with smut but oh well got to behave sometimes.)
> 
> This was a fun little fic to write, though I think it was more fun in my head, I think it turned out OK regardless.
> 
> Cheers

Alec woke up smiling. For the first time in weeks, he had a day off. Rolling over he reached out and found Magnus’ side of the bed empty. He frowned. He heard Magnus humming as he re-entered their bedroom.

“Why are you up so early?” Alec asked.

“I told you last night, I have an early client today Alexander, who I can’t postpone, I already have twice.”

Alec groaned and sat up in bed. Magnus had told him last night he had a client, but he’d been too distracted kissing him to really hear what he was saying. So much for spending the morning of his day off in bed with his boyfriend.

Alec took in Magnus. He was wearing a charcoal three-piece suit, his hair styled as per usual but without the colour and glitter and he was wearing minimal makeup.

“Who’s the client again?” Alec asked.

“French royalty. They have a curse issue.”

“Doesn’t sound fun.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“What time do you think you’ll be back?” Alec asked.

“Hopefully not too late but definitely after lunch,” Magnus said. “I’m sorry Alexander.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Alec said smiling. “Next time I’ll try to give you more notice when I’m able to get a day off.”

“That would be helpful.” Magnus moved over to Alec and kissed him sweetly.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can Alexander. I love you.”

Alec got out of bed and pulled Magnus close. “I love you too, be safe Mags.” He said before kissing him one last time.

Magnus opened a portal and stepped into it.

Alec considered going back to bed for a little bit, but it always felt so empty without Magnus. Instead, he headed into the bathroom and decided to take a long hot shower. As he stood under the warm spray, he looked out at the bathroom and noticed that the laundry hamper was overflowing.

Since Alec moved in, that was a common occurrence, the hamper was really a one person deal. Alec made a mental note to ask Magnus about getting a larger one. Stepping out of the shower Alec dried off quickly and walked back into the bedroom to pull on some comfy sweats. He noticed the pile of dirty laundry in his part of the wardrobe.

Sighing, he picked up the clothes, walked back into the bathroom to collect the hamper and the dirty laundry there and dragged them all down the hall to the laundry. Alec hadn’t actually used Magnus’ washer and dryer before, laundry was something that Magnus always seemed to handle. To be honest, he had no idea if Magnus did it by magic or not. All he knew was that he come home to clean and folded laundry on a regular basis.

It had sort of become their thing, Magnus handled the laundry and Alec did all the cooking. The general cleaning they’d do together or Magnus would use his magic. It seemed to work for them. Magnus had been working overtime lately, he’d been juggling clients between helping them out on missions, so Alec wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t had the time to do the laundry and he really didn’t expect Magnus to always have to do it.

Looking at the washer, confusion on his face, it was nothing like their old washer at the Institute. This machine only had one button, which Alec assumed was the On button. Turning on the machine it beeped, flashed, and came to life. The display lit up like a Christmas tree. Alec looked at the display and all its options and was utterly lost.

What were the chances that Magnus would have the manual laying around somewhere, Alec thought to himself, and then he had an idea. This was the internet age, surely the user manual would be online. Alec went back to the bedroom, grabbed his phone and walked back to the laundry. He looked at the machine and googled AEG. The website came up right away, and after selecting support, the manuals were easy to find.

He downloaded the PDF versions of the manuals for the washer and dryer onto his phone. Opening up the washer manual, he gave it a quick read. Learning about the different cycles. Alec decided to wash the towels first. He wasn’t a laundry expert, but even he knew to wash towels on their own otherwise everything would end up covered in lint.

He sorted out the rest of the clothing setting aside a couple of Magnus’ shirts and a jacket that was definitely dry clean only.

Adding the detergent and softener, Alec was very proud of himself when he started the first load. According to the washer, it was going to take about 1 hour 45 minutes to finish, so Alec decided to grab himself some breakfast.

Rummaging through the fridge, Alec settled on bacon and scrambled eggs. He pulled out all the ingredients and got to work. As his breakfast cooked, he took the opportunity to clean the fridge. He started with the door, wiping down the shelves and checking to make sure everything was in date, then he moved on to the shelves, wiping everything down and reorganising. He tossed away some out of date dressing and a tub of yoghurt, everything else was fine. Grabbing a notepad from Magnus’ office, he started a grocery list.

Once his breakfast was made, he stood at the kitchen bench and ate. Cleaning out the fridge has awoken the cleaning bug in him so as he ate he decided to clean the cupboards. First, he went through the pantry, reorganising and throwing away any out of date items. Way in the back, on the top shelf, he found Magnus’ secret chocolate supply and giggled. The man definitely had a sweet tooth. It was also no surprise to find that they had over a dozen different types of tea. After the pantry he started on the cupboard under the sink, they were getting low on a few cleaning supplies, so he added those to his grocery list. Lastly, he moved on to the storage cupboards, dusting and re-organising the glasses, then plates, bakeware and finally Tupperware. Magnus had more Tupperware than Alec had seen in his entire life.

Cupboards all organised, Alec stacked his breakfast dished in the dishwasher and decided to run it, as it was mostly full anyway. Looking at the time, he realised it had been almost 2 hours since he’d started the washer, so he made his way back to the laundry. The washing had indeed finished. He took out the towels, loaded them right into the dryer, and started it.

Looking at the piles of clothes he sorted earlier he decided to wash the dark colours first since it was the largest load. Most of the items were his. No surprise there.

It was only midmorning, and Alec wasn’t sure what to do next. The apartment was spotless, so there really wasn’t anything else for him to clean. He walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water when he remembered the shopping list he’d started. Alec didn’t really like shopping but grocery shopping was the less evil so decided what the hell, why not just go out and get everything. He added a few items to the list and added ‘Dinner???’ he didn’t have any idea what to cook for dinner, but since he had the time, he might as well organise something.

Grabbing his phone and wallet, he headed out. It was only a short walk to O’Dells. A local family-owned grocery store. Alec loved their fresh produce, and Magnus loved their wine selection, and Jeff O’Dell was a werewolf and a member of Luke’s pack which meant that Magnus could magic things from the store when they needed them and transfer the funds directly into their bank account.

Alec grabbed a small cart as he walked in and was greeted by Mary, Jeff’s wife.

“Good Morning Alec.” She chirped.

“Hey, Mary.”

“I’m surprised to see you here this early.”

“Day off,” Alec said smiling. Mary and Jeff knew precisely who, and what Alec was and they actually liked the fact that he frequented their store.

“Lucky you, no Magnus?”

“Sadly no, he’s working, so I thought I’d come and do some shopping and figure out what to make for dinner.”

“If you check out the meat department, we just got some very nice legs of lamb, perfect for roasting, we also have some very nice fish.”

“Lamb sounds good, I don’t think I’ve cooked a lamb roast before.”

“It’s fairly simple, I’d be happy to give you a few pointers.” She said smiling.

“Thanks,” Alec said and took off to get his supplies.

Mary was right there were some very nice legs of lamb and Alec settled on a smaller leg since it was just Magnus and himself. He decided roast veggies would go best with the lamb and picked up potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin. The green beans looked delicious, so he bought some of those as well, he could steam them.

Picking up all the items on his list he made his way over to the wine section, Magnus usually chose the wine, and he wasn’t too sure what went well with Lamb. He was still looking at the bottles when Jeff walked up to say Hi.

“Hey Alec,” he said smiling.

“Hi, Jeff.”

“I see you’ve gone the lamb.”

“Thought I’d give it a try. Don’t suppose you’d know what wine goes best with lamb?” Alec asked.

Jeff chuckled. He looked over the shelves and choose a medium priced red. “I think this will go great with roast lamb.”

“Thanks, wine is Magnus’ thing.”

“He does know his wines, that’s for sure.”

“Enjoy the rest of your day,” Jeff said moving towards the stock room.

“You too Jeff and thanks.”

Making his way to the register, he found Mary chatting away with another customer. She smiled at Alec who waited patiently.

“I’ve decided on the lamb,” Alec said as he unloaded his trolley.

“Good choice,” Mary said. She fished a note out of her apron pocket and passed it to Alec. “Here you go, the best way to cook a leg of lamb.”

Alec looked at the note, it contained cooking instructions, everything from seasoning to oven temps and timing.

“Wow, thanks, Mary.”

“Anytime for one of our favourite customers.” She beamed at him.

She rang up Alec’s groceries quickly, “Did you want to put this on Magnus’ tab?” She asked.

“Not today,” Alec said handing over his card.

“Give Magnus our best,” Mary said as Alec picked up his bags.

“Will do, thanks again Mary, have a wonderful day.”

“You too Alec, and come in soon and tell me how the lamb went.”

“I will,” Alec, said smiling.

Alec’s next stop was a little bakery not too far from the grocery store. They made the most divine cakes and pastries. Alec was at a loss as to what to choose so, in the end, he bought a few different slices of cake and some little pastries. 

Arms loaded, he made his way back to the apartment to find Raphael standing at their door. Alec and Raphael were never going to be best friends, but the tension between them after everything that happened with Isabelle was long gone. They had sorted out their difference mostly for Magnus’ sake, he was important to both of them in very different ways, a lover and partner to Alec and a father figure and friend to Raphael.

“Hi, Raphael,” Alec said.

Raphael turned and actually smiled at him. “Been shopping?” he took a few of the bags from Alec and Alec opened the front door.

“Since I had the time I decided to go grocery shopping,” Alec explained.

“Magnus not home?” Raphael asked.

“He’s in France, helping some royal out with a curse.”

“Ahh,” Raphael said not sure what to do.

“You’re more than welcome to stay until he gets home, he said he’d be back after lunch.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. You’re family.” Alec said walking towards the kitchen.

Raphael smiled at Alec’s comments and closed the door, following Alec.

“Would you like something to drink?” Alec asked as he started putting away the groceries.

“Yes please,” Raphael said. Alec turned towards the small bar fridge they had installed under one of the counters and grabbed a bottle of blood. Grabbing a glass from the cupboard, he poured Raphael a long glass and returned the bottle to the fridge.

“Thank you,” Raphael said as Alec handed him the glass.

Raphael couldn’t help but look at the groceries.

“You’re cooking a lamb roast?” he asked.

“Yes, thought I’d give it a try for dinner.”

“It’s not hard, but the trick to a good lamb roast is to cook it slowly at a lower temp.”

“Mary at the grocery store actually wrote down instructions for me.”

“I used to love to cook, I was damn good at it, even after I was turned, even though I couldn’t eat, I would still visit my family and cook dinner for them every Sunday.”

“I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for you, not eating.”

“You get used to it.”

“Well I’ve never cooked a lamb roast before, so I wouldn’t say no to a little help.”

“Sounds like fun,” Raphael said smiling, his fangs peeking out. “It’s still a little early to put the roast on, but we could get started on peeling the veggies.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Alec said. “I’ll be right back, I just need to check the laundry.”

“You’re turning into a regular housewife, Shadowhunter.” Raphael teased, and Alec just chuckled.

Alec couldn’t help smiling. Raphael had actually smiled at him, and he’d teased him. Magnus would have been thrilled to see it. The washer has finished, but the dryer was still going so Alec put the wet clothes in a basket and put the next load to be washed on. As he made his way back to the kitchen, he could hear Raphael humming happily.

Raphael had filled one of the sinks with water and was peeling potatoes and dropping them into the water.

“You can make a start on the carrots if you like,” Raphael said still humming contently.

“Shall I put some music on?” Alec asked. When Magnus and Alec cooked together, they always put music on.

“Great idea.”

“Anything you prefer?” Alec asked.

“Anything’s fine unless of course, you’re into death metal then it’s a no.”

“Death metal? I have no idea what that it.” Alec laughed.

He chose one of Magnus’ favourite playlist, it was mostly upbeat Jazz numbers.

As the first song started, Raphael looked at Alec. “Nice choice.” He said before starting on the onions.

After about 40 minutes they had all the veggies done.

“Do you have a large pot?” Raphael asked.

“We do, but I thought we were roasting the veggies.”

“We are, but if you parboil the potatoes first, they turn out so much better, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.”

“OK, you’re making me hungry.” Alec laughed passing him the pot.

Raphael filled it with water which he salted and placed the halved potatoes into it.

“You just need to bring them to the boil and then turn it off and leave the potatoes to sit for about 5 minutes.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Alec said smiling.

“It is, and then you just season them with olive oil, salt, pepper, maybe a little garlic, toss them around to rough them up and then bake. They’ll be delicious.”

“OK, now I’m definitely hungry. Lunch break.” Alec moved to the fridge.

“Another drink?” he asked Raphael.

“Yes, thanks.”

Alec poured Raphael another drink and then went to work throwing a sandwich together for himself. They moved out into the lounge area.

Raphel looked at Alec and Alec could tell he wanted to ask him something but he kept stopping himself.

“What’s up?” Alec said.

“I was just wondering how Isabelle is doing,” Raphael said a little nervous.

Alec looked at him for a moment and then smiled. Alec pushed aside his protective big brother persona for a moment. “She’s doing great. You should give her a call, I am sure she’d love to hear from you.”

“I don’t . . .” Raphael didn’t know exactly what to say.

“Raphael, we’ve moved past all that, and I admit my reaction was a little extreme, but she is my little sister and you having your own sister know what its like to want to protect her,” Alec stated. “I know you would never intentionally harm her.”

“Maybe I will give her a call,” Raphael said.

“Good,” Alec said dropping the matter.

“Want to watch some trashy tv?” Alec asked.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Have you ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer?” he asked grinning.

Raphael laughed, he actually laughed and not just a giggle but a deep belly laugh.

“So that’s a yes?” Alec said smiling. “I’m just starting season 2.”

“Well then, let's get to it,” Raphael said making himself comfier.

3 Hours later, this is where Magnus found them. Alec and Raphael sat on the couch, folding laundry and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, laughing. For a moment Magnus thought he might have accidentally portaled into a parallel world.

“Hey Mags,” Alec said turning to him a huge smiled on his face.

“Hey,” Raphael said.

“Good afternoon,” Magnus looked at them curiously. He moved in and gave Alec a quick peck on the lips.

“We’re watching Buffy,” Alec explained. “And we’ve been cooking. You never told me Raphael was such a wiz in the kitchen.”

“It never came up,” Magnus said not sure what else to say.

Alec heard a timer go off and jumped up. “Got to check the roast.”

Magnus sat in an armchair and looked at Raphael.

“So . . .” he started.

“He’s good company,” Raphael said without prompting.

“He is.” Magnus agreed.

“He’s quite the little wife. He’s been doing laundry, went shopping, and he’s cooking dinner for you.”

“Oh,” Magnus said trying not to smile too much.

“Not sure you deserve him.” Raphael teased.

Magnus huffed. “Was there a reason for your visit?”

“Actually yes, we’ve had a few break-ins at the Du Mort lately, mundanes, I was hoping you could help us with some wards to discourage them entering.”

“I can do that,” Magnus said

“Thank you.”

Alec walked back into the room.

“I’ve put the veggies in, the roast looks great.”

Raphael smiled at him, and Magnus definitely didn’t miss that.

“What are we having?” Magnus asked.

“Lamb roast, roast potatoes, carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin and Onions, and steamed green beans.”

“Wow, you’ve been busy.”

“Raphael showed me a great way to prepare the potatoes,” Alec said excitedly.

“I should be on my way,” Raphael said.

Alec looked disappointed. “I know you don’t eat, but you are more than welcome to stay for dinner.”

“Thank you Alec, but I really should get back.” Raphael smiled again. “Magnus if you can get to us as soon as possible I would appreciate it.”

“First thing in the morning,” Magnus said.

“Take care,” Alec said smiling at Raphael as he made his way to the front door.

“It was an interesting afternoon Shadowhunter. We should do it again.”

“I’d like that,” Alec said. “And don’t forget to give Izzy a call.”

“I won’t.” Raphael turned and left.

Magnus stood looking at his boyfriend, smirking.

“What?” Alec said.

“You two seemed to be having fun.”

“Raphael is good company,” Alec explained.

“And Izzy?”

“He asked about her, and I suggested he call her.”

Magnus just smiled at him. To see the two of them getting along really did make his heart soar. Raphael was the closest to family Magnus had and for him and Alec to be friends was a dream come true.

“How’d it go with the curse lifting?” Alec asked.

“It was messy. They really pissed off the wrong warlock, it seems they asked her to place some wards and then refused to pay her full fee because they deemed it unreasonable. So she gave the entire royal family, every single member from the Prince down to the great-grandchildren tails, curly pig’s tails.”

Alec laughed. “Well don’t think I could blame her for being upset.”

“No, I have to admit I couldn’t either,”  Magnus said smiling. “She’s only a young warlock but her spell was particularly good, I realised I couldn’t break it quickly, so I decided to have a chat with her. She’s really very lovely, her name is Veronica Swan.”

“Once the royals paid her the agreed amount, she removed the curse,” Magnus explained. “I suggested that from now on she ask for the money upfront.”

“Sounds like good business,” Alec said smiling.

“I’ve also invited her to visit, I hope you don’t mind,” Magnus said sheepishly.

“Why would I?” Alec smiled at Magnus.

“So how was your day?”

“I got up just after you left, the bed was too lonely without you, I had my shower and then noticed all the laundry piling up.”

“Sorry about that, I’ve been a little snowed under lately.”

“Magnus I’m not complaining, and you don’t have to do everything all the time, but I do think we need a larger hamper.”

Magnus clicked his fingers, “Consider it done.” He laughed.

“Anyway I decided to do laundry, your washer and dryer have more buttons than Ops I think.” He laughed. “I had to download the instructions on how to use them.”

Magnus laughed. “It’s not that hard.”

“So you actually use the washer and dryer, and you don’t just . .” Alec said wriggling his fingers.

“Why would I buy such expensive machines if I had no intention of using them, Alexander?” Magnus asked.

“Good point, I never thought of that,” Alec admitted. “It was a little intimidating at first, the washer I’m used to is old and has dials.”

Alec remembered Magnus’ shirts and jacket. “There are a few items I didn’t wash, they need to go to the dry cleaners, but I didn’t know who you use.”

“Oh well for dry cleaning, I go with . .” And Magnus wriggled his fingers, imitation Alec who imitated him.

They both laughed.

“While cooking breakfast I cleaned the fridge, and then I cleaned all the cupboards in the kitchen, things have been moved around a little.”

“You know I could have used magic to do all that don’t you?”

“I know, but I didn't mind doing it. Can I ask, why do you have so much Tupperware?”

“That stuff never dies, and every season they bring out new colours and new items I can’t help myself,” Magnus admitted. “I may have a slight problem.”

“You’re so cute.” Alec teased. “I went grocery shopping, Mary and Jeff say Hi. And then when I got home Raphael was here, we got to talking about cooking and the rest you know.”

“Sounds like a busy day.” Magnus smiled.

“It was actually relaxing just playing house for a day,” Alec admitted. A buzzer when off and Alec rushed off to the kitchen.

Magnus looked down at the laundry, most of it had already been folded. He sat on the couch and started folding the rest.

“You don’t need to do that,” Alec said walking back towards Magnus smiling.

“I don’t mind, I actually enjoy folding laundry, it clears the mind.”

Alec sat next to Magnus and folded too.

Alec looked like he wanted to ask a question.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Do vampires eat food at all? Can they?” He asked. He wasn’t entirely sure, and it wasn’t something he ever bothered researching before.

“Mundane food makes vampires sick because they can’t digest it. I have heard of some older vampires that have learnt to eat food to keep their secret, but it does not nourish them, for that they need blood.”

“Oh,” Alec said thoughtfully.

“Why do you ask?”

“Raphael was telling me how he used to love cooking, and I guess I never thought about it before, but it must be difficult never eating.”

“They adapt, they have no choice.”

“It would be nice to invite Raphael over to dinner though,” Alec said smiling.

“Even though he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t mind some variety with his blood. He’s particularly fond of a mix of sheep and cow blood with a splash of vodka and a squeeze of lemon.”

“Hmmm, interesting. Does the alcohol affect them?”

“No a vampire can’t get drunk, but if the blood they drink comes from a drugged aminal that can poison them.”

“What do you think about having a dinner party? We could invite Raphael, Cat, Jace, Clary, Izzy, Simon and Luke.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Magnus said beaming, it wasn’t often that Alec wanted to be sociable. Usually, any mention of a party or any sort had him cringing and thinking up excuses.

Looking down at the basket, Magnus noticed they’d folded everything. With a click of his fingers, everything was neatly put away.

“I may cheat a little putting everything away, it’s tedious.” Magnus laughed.

“When will dinner be ready?” Magnus asked.

“It will be at least another hour or so.”

“So plenty of time for me to grab a shower.”

“Heaps.”

“Great,” Magnus said standing. He started to move off towards the bedroom.

“I wouldn’t mind some company,” Magnus smirked turning back to Alec.

Alec’s face lit up, jumping up he sprinted forward, he scooped Magnus up, causing Magnus to giggle and carried him into the bathroom.

**Author's Note:**

> A little side note: I didn't mind Raphael's character in the books, especially because of what he did for Magnus (trying not to give anything away for those who haven't read them) but I adore the TV Raphael character so this is based on him. I really like the idea of Raphael and Alec becoming friends.


End file.
